Special Coverage

Two hold best Sweet and Sassy cards

Tony Dutrow and Tim Ritchey have stacked the odds in their favor. Both trainers have two fillies with good credentials among the eight female sprinters in Friday's $100,000 Sweet and Sassy Stakes at Delaware Park.

Dutrow, who is winning at a 35 percent clip this meet, will saddle Hungarian Boatbaby and Intentional Fever, the top two choices on the track's morning line at 9-5 and 3-1, respectively. Ritchey will counter with multiple stakes winner Akronism and her uncoupled stablemate Cash's Girl, who is 2 for 2 locally.

Hungarian Boatbaby brings a three-race winning streak into the six-furlong Sweet and Sassy. She owns a 3-for-4 record at Delaware, including a win over a sloppy track in an overnight stakes in November 2006.

Although her form is sharp, Hungarian Boatbaby hasn't been out since posting a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 97 winning the Primonetta at Laurel Park on April 5. Dutrow is only 1 for his last 10 with female sprinters returning off long layoffs, including a sixth-place finish by Hungarian Boatbaby in the Dearly Precious at Aqueduct in February 2007.

Dutrow's other filly, Intentional Fever, has been idle even longer. She hasn't run since finishing second in the $200,000 Miss Woodford on the Breeders' Cup undercard at Monmouth Park last October. The last time she returned from such a long layoff, Intentional Fever finished ninth in a first-level allowance.

Both of Ritchey's fillies are also coming off layoffs. Akronism and Cash's Girl both competed on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico, where Akronism won the Skipat and Cash's Girl was a nonthreatening fifth in the Grade 2 Allaire du Pont Distaff.

Akronism, the 123-pound highweight, is 3 for 8 over Delaware's main track, but only 1 for 5 when running back following a layoff of between 31 and 60 days, as she will be doing Friday.

In addition to taking a class drop, Cash's Girl is cutting back from 1 1/16 miles to six furlongs, her best distance. The last time she made a similar distance switch, Cash's Girl won an overnight stakes locally.

Your Flame in Me and Downthedustyroad may offer value coming off lengthy vacations.

The 4-year-old Your Flame in Me, who comes from the high-percentage barn of Mike Trombetta, led until deep stretch of the Grade 2 Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct last time out. She won a minor stakes in New York the last time she returned from a layoff.

Downthedustyroad owns a Grade 1 win in the La Brea at Santa Anita, but that came way back in December 2006. She has raced only twice since then and not at all since last November. She will be making her first start since moving from trainer Bob Baffert to Michael Matz. His record with new acquisitions returning from more than 180 days on the sidelines is an icy 1 for 28.